Agrivoltaics puts solar panels and crops on the same acreage. For Maryland farmers facing thin margins and volatile weather, the second revenue stream from power generation changes the arithmetic of keeping land in agriculture.

Early projects show certain crops perform as well or better under partial shade, and livestock benefit from it outright. The panels, in turn, run cooler over vegetation.

State clean-energy targets give the trend policy tailwinds. The farmers adopting it earliest are treating energy as a crop like any other.